About DuPage. Education.

Famous Americans Tip Hats To Teachers

March 16, 1994|By Casey Banas, Tribune Education Writer.

Katie Sotor, an Elmhurst mother of three small children, has a dream, and her dream is to write a book honoring teachers.

What she and an Elmhurst friend, Judy Thrall, are doing is writing to famous Americans and asking each of them to describe their favorite teacher. They expect to package the responses into a book tentatively titled "Teachers I Have Known."

"What prompted me to do this was my mother, Marie Therese Burke, retiring after 33 years of teaching," Sotor said. "She retired in 1991 as a religion teacher at Carmel High School in Mundelein.

"She was able to maintain the excitement and newness of teaching all those years, and what a way this would be to dedicate a book to her."

Here are some of their responses so far:

- President Clinton: "I was fortunate enough to have many very special, caring teachers, one of whom was Prof. Carroll Quigley, a professor at Georgetown University. He taught me that America is the greatest nation in the world because our people have always believed in two great ideas; first, that tomorrow can better than today; and second, that each of us has a personal responsibility to make it so."

- Leo Buscaglia, lecturer: "My English language skills were low and my view of the world was radically unrealistic. He (a school psychologist) classified me, after the usual tests, as mentally deficient and recommended special class placement. It was in the special class setting that I encountered Miss Hunt. She paid little, if any, attention to labels such as `retarded.' She saw us all as children with rich possibilities and unlimited potentials. She helped me to love learning and created an unforgettable loving, acceptable environment for us all."

- Isaac Stern, violinist: Naoum Blinder, violin teacher, "was not only a mentor and guide but also a very close personal friend who treated me as a member of his family. His greatest gift to me, and the one characteristic by which I judge great teachers today, was his determination and success in teaching me how to teach myself."

- Former President Jimmy Carter: Miss Julia Coleman "taught all of her students to seek cultural knowledge beyond the requirements of a normal rural school classroom. As a schoolboy who lived in an isolated farm community, my exposure to classical literature, art and music was ensured by this superlative teacher."

- Gov. Ann Richards of Texas: "One of the best things that happened to me growing up was Mattie Bess Coffield's speech class, which I took during my freshman year at Waco High School. In Miss Coffield's class, I competed in extemporaneous speech, debate and acted in one-act plays. . . . Whenever I get nervous before a speech, I remember what Miss Coffield taught me: `Just visualize your audience as if they were all sitting there in their underwear.' "

- Ann Landers, Tribune columnist: Grace Bagley, English teacher at Central High School, Sioux City, Iowa, "made her subject a joy. She was warm and witty, wise and funny. . . . We couldn't get enough of her personal experiences. She inspired me to read so that I might be an interesting person."